Archford Capital Strategies LLC Raises Position in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO)

Archford Capital Strategies LLC lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 26.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,749 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after buying an additional 4,342 shares during the quarter. Archford Capital Strategies LLC's holdings in Valero Energy were worth $2,740,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VLO. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $669,400,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,725,700 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $4,257,024,000 after purchasing an additional 4,805,133 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 15,395.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,355,699 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $179,047,000 after purchasing an additional 1,346,950 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Valero Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $132,469,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in Valero Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $98,376,000. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Valero Energy Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of VLO traded up $1.32 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $137.04. The stock had a trading volume of 2,616,509 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,031,499. Valero Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $99.00 and a 12-month high of $167.78. The firm has a market cap of $42.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.56. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $126.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $127.67.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.16 by ($0.27). The firm had revenue of $28.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.54 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 6.30% and a net margin of 0.72%. The business's revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.82 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th were given a $1.13 dividend. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 20th. Valero Energy's payout ratio is currently 159.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James Financial cut their price target on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Valero Energy from $158.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $145.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $156.00 to $136.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $152.00 to $147.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $150.88.

Valero Energy Profile

Valero Energy Corporation manufactures, markets, and sells petroleum-based and low-carbon liquid transportation fuels and petrochemical products in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Latin America, Mexico, Peru, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Refining, Renewable Diesel, and Ethanol.